Parliament Passes Transgender Persons Amendment Bill Amid Opposition Protest

The Bill was passed amid the Opposition's demand for the Bill to be sent to the Select Committee.

The Bill was introduced by the Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, Virendra Kumar.

The Bill alters the definition of transgender person to exclude several individuals.

According to the statement of the objects and reasons for the bill, it is the legislative policy to recognise a specific class of transgender persons, who face social issues and to create a regime for their protection. The legislative policy was and is intended to protect only those who face severe social exclusion due to biological reasons for no fault of their own and no choice of their own.

The definition of a transgender person as per the Bill reads, "a person having such socio-cultural identities as kinner, hijra, aravani and jogta, or eunuch, or a person with intersex variations specified below or a person who, at birth, has a congenital variation in one or more of the following sex characteristics as compared to male or female development:-- (a) primary sexual characteristics; (b) external genitalia; (c) chromosomal patterns; (d) gonadal development; (e) endogenous hormone production or response, or such other medical conditions."

The Bill also includes transgender persons coerced into their gender identity by any sort of force; however, it excludes people who "self-perceive" as transgender persons, as Section 3 of the Amendment Bill omits Section 4(2) of the 2019 Act.

The amendments empower the District Magistrate to issue a certificate of identity after taking the assistance of other medical experts, if needed.

In the Rajya Sabha, DMK MP Tiruchi Siva said, "I am sure even if the Bill is passed, despite our pressure, it will be struck down in the Supreme Court as it violates Articles 15, 15, 19 and 21... I urge the government to either withdraw the Bill or send it to a select committee to take the views of the stakeholders, legal experts, the civil society and the transgender community."

RJD MP Manoj Jha, who was also part of the anti-Transgender Persons Bill protest in the national capital, highlighted the prejudice towards transgender persons.

Jha said, "There is a fundamental difference between legislative majority and moral majority. The government agrees with the legislative majority but has a different view towards the moral majority. Many of us carry prejudice towards transgender community. Our views towards the community are at a subterranean level. Till we address our prejudices, we cannot understand why their dignity is important. I thank my students, family members and fellow MPs who enlightened me on this issue."

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi asked the Centre to withdraw the Bill, stating that it goes against the Supreme Court's NALSA verdict.

Chaturvedi said, "I stand here to reject the amendments. The inhumane Bill should be withdrawn. As per the 2011 census, about five lakh people identify themselves as transgender persons. Deciding for five lakh people without consultation. This is not a decision of selecting a party chief where only two people make decisions. The NALSA judgment said that transgender persons are equal to all under the Article 14 and 15 of the Constitution. We were among the nations talking about self-identification, but now that right is being taken away."

On Tuesday, the Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha amid a walkout from the Opposition MPs.

The Bill will become an Act after the President's assent.

- ANI